


All you need is hugs

by Crystal_E_Fall



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Caleb Covington tries to ruin things as per usual, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Ghost powers are weird, Good Parent Ray Molina, Hugs, Mentioned Aunt Victoria, fluff with a bit of plot, he/they willie, hugs make everything better, she/they flynn, silliness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29431125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_E_Fall/pseuds/Crystal_E_Fall
Summary: Aka fourteen reasons to hug your friends a bunch ❤️Updated Thursdays and Sundays.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Flynn & Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters & Willie
Comments: 17
Kudos: 75





	1. Sleep deprivation (and magic carpets)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe magic carpets can both fly and be super soft?

Julie leaned her head against the piano top, trailing her fingers across the keys. The melody echoed around the studio, harmonizing and clashing with the notes and chords and beats Luke, Reggie and Alex were playing, all together creating soothing waves of sound. It had started out as a band rehearsal, but had soon disassembled - everyone too tired to stay focused but too awake to go to bed.

How long they sat there, absentmindedly plucking at their instruments Julie didn't know, but eventually Reggie put his bass back on the stand. With a yawn he walked towards her, dramatically sprawling out on the black-and-white carpet next to the piano (they'd found it in the attic only a few days ago and had all agreed it looked "rad enough" to put in the studio).

"Um, Reg, what're you doing?" Alex asked, sceptically eyeing his bandmate currently with a face full of carpet.

Reggie rolled over on his back, arms flailing as he did. "I don't know, it looked comfy." He grinned. "I was right."

"Dude, it's not even an inch thick," Luke pointed out. "How can it possibly be comfy?"

A shrug. "Magic carpet?"

Julie turned away to hide her smile.

"That's not how magic carpets work," Alex said, nearly poking his eye out with a drumstick as he tried to cover his own yawn. "Magic carpets fly."

"Well, we were wrong about the ghost thing, so who's to say the flying thing isn't wrong? Maybe _real_ magic carpets are just extra soft, normal carpets."

Luke put his guitar down, pouting ("I don't _pout!_ " Julie remembered him saying when they'd pointed it out to him, before doing that very thing). "Don't you dare ruin Aladdin for me."

"Or maybe it's both," Reggie quickly placated. "Both soft and able to fly."

Shaking her head in amusement, Julie stood up. In a few steps she'd crossed the distance and flopped down next to Reggie with a contented sigh.

Never mind that it probably wasn't about the carpet itself but rather just the notion of lying down: it was comfortable. Really comfortable, actually.

She sighed contentedly. "This carpet's totally comfy."

When she said as much, Reggie let out a gleeful "Told ya!" and shuffled over, his shoulder brushing hers. "And you know Julie's always right!"

Julie wasn't quite sure that was true, but smiled and played along anyway. "Yup. And I've decided this is a magic carpet."

Making a triumphant noise, Reggie raised her hand and moved it to high-five his own. It looked so ridiculous that they both giggled.

Meanwhile Alex was watching their antics fondly, arms resting on his snare drum, but Luke only rolled his eyes. Spinning dramatically around on the stool he'd been sitting on, he stood up, walked over… and tumbled down right on top of them.

"Luke!" Julie yelled at the same time Reggie groaned, "My ribs!"

A shit-eating grin spread across Luke's lips as he looked down at them, not moving an inch. "You're right. This is comfy!"

Now it was Julie's turn to roll her eyes. "Get off, you dork." She shoved his side.

"Nope," he replied, but he shifted anyway (which earned him a sigh of relief from Reggie) to lie diagonally across them instead, head on Reggie's shoulder and legs flung over Julie's.

They simply laid there for a while, quietly revelling in the close contact and the (semi) softness of the carpet. Without meaning to, Julie felt herself start to drift off.

"Come on, Alex," she heard Luke say, bringing her back to awareness. She looked over to see that Alex was still sitting at his drums. "You know you want to get in on this."

"Yeah, come on!" Reggie chimed in. "If this is a flying magic carpet, we don't want to fly away without you."

"That's not… okay." Despite the words, Alex dropped his drumsticks onto the snare drum and shuffled over. For a moment, he hovered uncertainly before Julie pulled him down next to her. Reggie looked a little disappointed - understandable, as Alex was by far the best snuggle partner of them all.

Smiling softly to herself, Julie nuzzled a little closer as Alex shifted his body to fit along her side, his arm going around both her and Luke. As one, she and the others brought a hand up to his, their fingers all tangling together.

Julie closed her eyes again, the smile still ghosting her lips. "Wake me up if the carpet starts flying."

Sleepy murmurs were her only answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this me projecting onto the JATP gang because I miss my friends and wish I could hug them (or even meet them) but can't because of the pandemic? Yes, yes it is.
> 
> But I also just ADORE how wholesome, silly and cute they are together.
> 
> This story's basically gonna be a series of fourteen one-shots (with a bit of an overarching plot), centred around their dynamics and different moments where they hug each other, so yeah, I hope it'll make you smile and feel things... maybe even act a bit cathartic if you're missing your friends like me.
> 
> Until next time! :)


	2. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares suck, but they suck a little less with friends to comfort you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished my essay for my literature course a few days early, which means I get tomorrow pretty much off! :D No better way to celebrate than fanfic, am I right?
> 
> So this one is more hurt/comforty than the last chapter... just thought I'd get that out there.
> 
> Anyway, hope you like it :)

They were flickering again. They were flickering and there was nothing she could do to save them.

"Please," she whispered, reaching for Luke's hand. Heart shattering a little more as her fingers phased right through him. "Please, no…"

"Julie…" Reggie's voice caught on a sob, not getting anything more out than her name. And it was wrong, so wrong. Reggie was never lost for words. He always had something to say.

Alex was standing beside him, arms wrapped protectively around himself, his whole body screaming of the fear and sorrow she knew was mirrored in her own.

"Julie," Luke said, pulling her focus back to him. Back to his eyes, filled with fervent reassurance even as he flickered. Gone. Here. Gone. Here. "Julie, we'll figure this out. It-it'll be okay…"

But it wouldn't be. It never would be.

The boys flickered one last time, before disappearing completely. Leaving her alone in the darkness with that terrible laughter ringing in her ears. That laughter she'd never heard, but still knew who it belonged to.

Caleb.

And with that came the final, awful realisation: the boys were gone. Truly gone.

She had lost them too.

Her knees met heavily with the ground as she slumped down. Legs no longer able to hold her. Hair sticking to her cheeks as the tears fell.

"No, please, no, no… bring them back to me, bring them b-back to me, bring… _p-please…_ "

Something heavy landing on top of her woke her up.

"What the heck, how did we- ow, Reggie, that was my _face!_ "

"Sorry! Buuut you kinda killed my ribs yesterday, so… karma?"

"Okay, so apparently we can teleport in our sleep now. Okay. _Okay._ No big deal, Alex, not at all, just add it to the list of the bajillion other weird ghost things with no explanation..."

It was only then Julie opened her eyes. The familiar tiles of her bedroom roof came into view, along with the tangled limbs of the three teenage boys currently lying on top of her. Hand shaking, hardly daring to hope, she reached for Luke's shoulder.

It was solid. _He_ was solid.

A shuddering breath escaped her lips and she pulled the hand back, rubbing it across her eyes that were still leaking tears.

A dream. It'd just been a dream.

Luke, Reggie and Alex had by now managed to untangle themselves from her and each other and were watching her with various expressions of worry.

"Julie?" Luke said. "Julie, are you… okay?"

Almost the same words as in the dream. Right before they all flickered one last time. Julie wanted to bury her face in her hands, give herself some time to at least find a little composure, but she didn't dare to.

Because… because what if they disappeared for _real_?

"Nightmare?" Alex asked quietly, voice laced with the knowing that only came from own experience.

She was going to leave her answer at a simple nod, but seeing how concerned they were for her she managed to add, "You… you were dying."

Reggie sent her a half-smile. "Don't know if you know, but we've already done that part. Can't die twice."

At any other time the comment would've made her laugh, but now, with the nightmare still so fresh in her mind, she couldn't even muster a smile. Instead, she forced herself to continue, "I meant… I meant you were flickering. L-like after the Orpheum."

"Oh," Reggie said after a moment of silence. He shivered. "Yeah, that sucked _._ "

"But it's _not_ happening again." Luke reached out and squeezed her hand fervently. "Feel that? We're here, okay? A-and whatever happens we're not going _anywhere._ "

Julie knew he couldn't promise that, knew things could change at the blink of an eye… but for now, for tonight, the words could be true. _Were_ true.

And so, as she rubbed her face once again, she nodded.

"I still want hugs though," she murmured at the same time Alex asked, "Do you want a hug?"

The four of them shared a little laugh. Then the boys wrapped her in their arms - Luke on the left, Alex on the right and Reggie half on top of her. She pulled them closer, their touch driving away the last remnants of the dream, making her feel lighter than she had been only moments before.

Ironic, considering she was physically weighed down by three people right now.

With a private smile she relaxed, relishing in the feeling of Alex's shoulder against her cheek, Luke's hand gently carding through her hair, Reggie's breath ghosting (ha) against her arm.

The nightmare didn't plague her any more that night.


	3. Weird teleportation powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay, so you guys know I don’t-”
> 
> “Do well with change,” Luke and Reggie chorused, making them both grin. “Yeah, we know,” Luke added.

“Okay, so you guys know I don’t-”

“Do well with change,” Luke and Reggie chorused, making them both grin. “Yeah, we know,” Luke added.

Julie shoved him, making him bump into Reggie. “Stop being idiots. Go on, Alex.”

Alex let his gaze linger a little longer on his bandmates, sitting lined up on the studio couch, before continuing his pacing. Usually he would’ve remarked on Luke and Reggie’s obvious inability to read a room, but right now he was too worked up to care and if he didn’t talk about it soon he would literally explode.

… Okay, not  _ literally  _ \- that was one thing he was sure ghosts couldn’t do (right?). But this thing was freaking him out and he’d be dramatic about it if he wanted to, dammit!

“Alex?”

Drawing himself out of his thoughts, Alex noticed his friends watching him with various mixes of concern and amusement. Right. He should probably start explaining. “Okay, so you know last night when we poofed up to Julie’s room?”

Julie’s face immediately clouded over, no doubt remembering the awful nightmare she’d had. Guilt filled him at the sight and he went to backtrack, to tell them to forget about it, when she nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too. How did you guys know to poof up at that exact moment?”

“That’s the thing!” Alex threw his hands out. “I was  _ sleeping _ ! I was here, in the studio, sleeping on the pull-out and the next minute, poof, on your bed being squashed by these two!”

“Squashed?” Luke spluttered. “You were at the top of the pile! If anything,  _ I  _ was the one being squashed!”

“If we’re comparing it,” Reggie said, “technically the most squashed would be Julie.”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Who cares who was the most squashed,” Julie sighed, promptly steering them back on track, “So, Alex, what you’re saying is… you guys didn’t teleport on purpose?”

“No! And it’s kinda freaking me out - what if we start teleporting randomly now? What if we start doing it every time we sleep? What if it’s not your bedroom next time, but the Ghost Club o-or Alcatraz or  _ the bottom of the sea- _ ”

Reggie gasped. “Wait, can we breathe under water? I mean, since we don’t  _ actually  _ need to breathe… oh my gosh, that would be so rad…”

Luke patted his leg. “Next time we’re at the beach, we’ll try.”

“Please don’t,” Julie said. 

“Why not?” Seeing her pointed look, he added, “We’ll stay in the shallow parts. Promise.”

“Hellooo?” Alex waved his arms, his voice coming out way more high-pitched than wished. “Still freaking out over here.”

“Sorry,” was Reggie’s quick reply. Then he frowned. “Man, what if we  _ do  _ start poofing randomly?”

“Hey,” Luke said as Alex started pacing again. “Maybe it was just a one time thing.” 

And, yeah, Luke might be right about that, but… “It’s still weird either way!!”

“Mm… Julie, what do you think? … Julie?”

The girl in question blinked. “Huh?” Only then did she seem to notice that all of them were looking at her. “I was just thinking. About something that happened in the dream.”

“What?” Luke asked, looping an arm around her shoulders.

“After you, um, faded from existence,” she picked at the sleeve of her sweater, eyes downcast, “I remember wishing, over and over, for you to come back. And then,  _ poof, _ ” she laughed a little, “there you were.”

Stunned silence hung between them for a moment. Then everyone started talking at once.

“We poofed because you  _ wished  _ for us?”

“Whoa, just like our instruments!”

“So you  _ are _ a witch!”

“I’m not a witch!” Julie went to shove Reggie’s leg but hesitated. “At least... I don’t think I am.”

“No, you’re not,” Luke assured, squeezing her shoulders and grinning. “You’re way cooler. Like a Jedi or something.”

“Jedis can’t mind-poof people though… can they?” Reggie’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, if they’ve added that in the new movies it would be literally the coolest thing ever.”

Alex barely kept in a sigh as the conversation derailed again. His friends seriously had the worst attention spans ever.

… Never mind that he was exactly the same when he wasn’t stressed out (like now). 

Taking a step forward, Alex locked eyes with Julie. “So you can poof us to you… whenever you wish for it?”

“I… I don’t know. It could’ve just been a fluke.”

“One way to find out,” Luke said, bouncing to his feet. “Try doing it again!”

“What, right now?”

“Yeah! Wait, let’s just go over here…” With that he pulled Reggie off the couch and, snatching a hold of Alex on the way, bounded over to the drumset. He sent Julie a giddy smile. “Okay, now try it!”

“Okay… but how do I do this? Do I…?” She held her hand out towards them like Yoda had when he lifted that spaceship from the lake - or had it been Luke Skywalker? Alex couldn’t remember. He’d pay more attention next time Reggie forced them to rewatch the movies. “Or…?” Making a droning noise, she brought her other hand up to her temple. Their confused (and amused) looks made her stop though and throw her arms out. “I don’t know, you guys are the poof experts!”

They shared a look. 

“Maybe try doing what you did in the dream?” Reggie then suggested.

“Make her think about how we were erased from existence again. Real classy, Reg.” At least that’s what Alex was going to say, but Julie was already nodding. Of course she was - in the short time they’d known each other, he’d quickly realised she wasn’t one to run from emotions, even the heavier ones. 

One of the many things he admired her for.

“Alright.”

Shaking her shoulders out, she closed her eyes. Sat up straighter. Took a deep breath. As she frowned in concentration, Alex tensed, anticipating that strange tingle that preceded every poof. Any second now…

Nothing happened. 

Reggie leaned towards him to whisper, “I’m starting to think this isn’t-”

Pins and needles suddenly rushed through Alex like a tidal wave and before he had time to react he and the others had poofed… right on top of Julie. 

Unprepared for the sudden onslaught Julie flew backwards with a yelp, somehow tumbling over the couch armrest - afterwards, Alex reasoned they must’ve come at her at an angle or something - and taking them all with her. 

_ Oh crap. _

Alex threw his arms out in a desperate attempt not to crush her, but they folded underneath him as Reggie and Luke slammed into his back. 

“Ow!”

“What the h-”

“Oh my gosh, Julie, are you okay?!”

To his absolute relief, Julie started laughing. A little wheezily, but still a laugh. “That... went well.”

“Yeah, um…” came Reggie’s voice right next to his ear, “I think we might need to practice.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” Alex commented drily, shifting to lift at least some of their weight off Julie. 

His efforts were annulled however as Luke reached down to tap her arm. “Hey, it still worked! How cool is that!”

The smile slowly crept across her face. “Alright, it’s pretty cool.”

Reggie let out a small cheer and then suddenly they were hugging. Well, Alex wouldn’t exactly class it as hugging, lying stacked on top of each other as they were. More like… one-sided embraces? Whatever. Despite worrying about whether he was squashing Julie or not, it was actually kinda nice. Comforting even. 

Unsurprisingly, being on the bottom as she was, Julie was the first to break it off. “Come on, get off me,” she said, making a shooing motion. “You know, for being ghosts you guys are pretty freaking heavy.”

Sharing a chuckle, they hurried to obey her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite sure how I feel about this one, honestly - it just didn't want to cooperate with me lol. Still fun to write though!
> 
> Until next time :)


	4. The afterlife sucks sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, whatcha writing?”
> 
> Luke snapped the notebook closed as Julie entered the studio, sending her what he hoped was a convincing grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing the Thursday update - I just needed a little mental health break. But I'm back now and aiming to get back into my posting schedule again
> 
> That being said, thank you so much for all the encouragement through subscriptions, kudos etc. - a bright spot in my otherwise pretty crappy week :)
> 
> Anyway, time for Luke to get some love!
> 
> (Because he freaking deserves it)
> 
> (Honestly, they all do)

"Hey, whatcha writing?"

Luke snapped the notebook closed as Julie entered the studio, sending her what he hoped was a convincing grin.

"Just… just messing around with some song ideas."

Truth be told, he hadn't actually been writing. Well, he had been writing to start with, but then his mind had made a run for it right into the abyss - which was _kinda_ a problem when the song was meant to be happy and the only words that came out were sad ones.

So he'd given up. Just for a little while until he managed to pull himself together.

… At least, that had been the plan.

Man, how long had he been sitting there, just staring out into the air?

"Uh huh," Julie said, crossing her arms, "Now tell me what's wrong."

So much for a convincing grin. Luke sighed as Julie sat down beside him, fixing him with that stare that made you spill your guts out no matter if you wanted to or not. Seriously, it was impossible not to, which was annoying because _he_ was supposed to be the spooky one of the two!

He leaned back on the couch, eyes trained on the floating chairs on the ceiling. "I was thinking. A-about my parents." His leg started bouncing of its own accord as he struggled to keep his voice under control. "How I've been dead for twenty-five years and… despite e-everything, they celebrated - celebrate - my birthday every year. Every freaking _year_."

It took a moment before he realised what he'd said, but when he did he immediately cursed himself (and Julie's tell-me-everything powers). Why did he have to mention the birthday thing? Would Julie connect the dots? Man, if he'd ruined the surprise now after all the planning he and the guys had done so far…

But there was only compassion in her eyes as she leaned forward to wrap him in a hug. The simple action speaking louder than any words she could have said.

Luke sunk into the touch, her hair tickling lightly, soothingly against his face as he nestled against her shoulder. Despite himself, the knot in his chest loosened slightly - there was just something about actually being able to have physical contact with her that did that. He didn't think he'd ever stop being amazed by it. By how _real_ it made him feel.

A familiar whooshing sound made them finally let go of each other.

"Guess what?" Reggie said, grinning that goofy grin of his. "Apparently _ducks_ can see ghosts."

Julie raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yup! They chased Alex all around the park. He was terrified."

"I was _not-_ " Luke felt the corners of his mouth quirk up as Alex's voice rose in pitch like it always did when he was embarrassed. Seeing that none of them were buying his lie however, he snapped, "There were five of them, okay? _Big_ ones!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Reggie. "And you were the one who insisted on feeding them!"

"How was I supposed to know they were _that_ hungry?"

As the two of them flopped down next to them on the couch, Reggie still animatedly relaying everything that had happened (his arm casually, comfortingly coming around Luke's shoulders), Alex caught Luke's gaze. The message in his blue eyes was clear. _You okay?_

Luke studied him for a moment, before giving a discreet nod. _I'm okay._

And it might not be the entire truth, might not completely correspond with the pressure still remaining in his chest, but with Julie and Alex and Reggie surrounding him, brushing against him, simply being _there_ with him…

He knew he would be.


	5. Ghostly reveals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Um, Julie, what are you doing?"
> 
> Julie lowered her arms and turned to see Carlos on the porch, a confused frown on his face as he crossed the backyard to her.

“Um, Julie, what are you doing?”

Julie lowered her arms and turned to see Carlos on the porch, a confused frown on his face as he crossed the backyard to her.

“What’s up, little man?” Reggie immediately called.

“Reggie says hi. Probably the others too,” Julie said, getting confirming nods and little waves from Luke and Alex. Carlos waved back in completely the wrong direction. “We were just practicing some ghost stuff.” Seeing her brother’s interest, she continued, “We think I might be able to poof the guys to me? I mean, we know I can ‘cause I did twice before, but now it’s not working and we’re trying to figure out why. So far, not going great.”

“Wait, maybe he can help us?” Luke suggested as he and the boys walked over.

Alex gave him a look. “Help us with what? Keep failing?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate the Ghost Master,” Reggie said. “My man’s got skills.”

“Ghost Master?”

“Yeah, like Jedi Master, but we’re ghosts, so-”

Unaware of their conversation, Carlos grinned at Julie and said, “You have ghost telekinesis? That is _awesome._ ” The look he gave her afterwards however was enough to light a spark of worry in her stomach. “What’s not awesome however is that dad and _tía_ have seen all your weird,” he waved his arms mystically in front of him, “from the kitchen window… and _tía_ thinks you’re summoning a demon.”

_ Oh crap.  _

Julie’s eyes immediately snapped to said window, and sure enough, there they both were. Dad looked mostly confused, but _tía_ … _tía_ looked frantic. 

_ Dios,  _ how the heck was she going to explain this?

Hoping her smile didn’t betray the panic she felt, she awkwardly raised a hand and waved. After a moment’s hesitation, they waved back. 

“We’re so screwed,” Luke mumbled.

“We?” Julie hissed under her breath, still facing the window. The  _ last  _ thing she needed right now was for her family to see her talking to the air. “They can’t even see you guys - if anyone’s screwed, it’s me!”

Carlos crossed his arms, looking way too amused about the whole thing. “Uh huh. So unless you wanna start talking to Doctor Turner again, I think you know what you have to do.”

“What?”

“Tell them, obviously!”

:::

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

Julie and the ghosts had been prepping in the studio for about an hour now, going over the song and tweaking the last few details to make it pop just a little more. Not enough to overdo it (and risk it sounding  _ too  _ polished), but still more than they usually would. Because this performance was important - one of the most, if not  _ the  _ most important performance of Julie’s life.

Because this was the song they were using to show her dad the truth. To show him her band was actually made up of three teenage ghosts (musician spirits, an imaginary Alex corrected in her mind). 

She must’ve looked as worried as she felt as Luke only took one glance at her before calling out, “Alright, band circle everyone!”

They gathered around - Luke on her left, Reggie on her right, Alex in front of her - arms around each other’s shoulders. 

“Okay, so we don’t know how Mr. Molina’s gonna react - I don’t have a clue how I would in his place.” Luke’s hand drummed comfortingly against Julie’s back. “But what I  _ do  _ know is that we have an amazing song, a killer singer,” heat rose on Julie’s cheeks as Alex and Reggie nodded in agreement, “and if  _ anything  _ can make the whole ghosts-are-real thing easier to accept, it’s music! So let’s  _ rock  _ this show!”

As they all cheered, Julie felt some of the tension melt away and she grinned, pulling her bandmates closer. They weren’t late to return the embrace. 

The sensation of Luke’s arm around her shoulders, Reggie’s hair tickling her face, Alex’s chin resting against her head, just the simple fact that they could  _ touch…  _ Julie didn’t think she’d ever get enough of it.

“Let’s do this!” she shouted as Luke got them all to jump around in a circle.

:::

As the band launched into an instrumental interlude, Ray simply sat there, brain going into overdrive to process what was happening. 

The three boys had appeared out of thin air. 

Along with their instruments. 

Without a projector.

And Julie had just  _ phased through  _ one of them. 

This… this was a lot to take in. 

A hundred questions burned on his tongue, a hundred thoughts whirled in his mind, but the only thing he managed to get out was, “So you guys are…  _ not  _ from Sweden?”

The bassist - Reggie, he reminded himself - shook his head, smile excited and nervous all at once. “Nope. I haven’t even seen the Alps in  _ pictures _ .”

“That’s not…” The drummer - Alex, right? - must’ve caught something in his bandmate’s face, as his expression softened and he trailed off with a quiet, “Okay.”

“I’ve got pictures from our 2017 ski trip there I could show you,” Ray responded before he could think about it. Trust photography to break through the ghost panic.

_ Dios mio,  _ his Julie was in a ghost band. A  _ ghost band! _

Ducking his head, Reggie busied himself with his bass. “I’d like that.”

“But… how can you…? How can I…?”

“Oh, Julie makes us visible through the power of love and music,” the guitarist - Luke, his brain supplied. The guy Julie often shared a mic with - said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, strumming out a few power chords, “It connects our souls somehow.”

Souls, love, music,  _ ghosts _ ... The words bounced around in his head like ping-pong balls. _ Dios,  _ this was crazy. Absolutely, utterly, completely crazy. 

“ _ Papi _ ?” Julie’s voice broke through the haze, her hands fiddling with the microphone as he met her gaze. 

In that moment, Ray decided he could freak out more about this later. About what it meant for Julie, about how having three ghosts living (existing?) in his garage would be, about what the heck they’d tell Victoria. All that could be saved for later when he was in the confinements of his bedroom.

For now he’d focus on the four teenagers in front of him, the awesome song they were playing… and the relief that Julie wasn’t actually summoning demons.

And so he smiled and said, “Well, I’m pleased to finally meet you boys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ray is the best dad and I will die (and become a ghost) on that hill.
> 
> (Completely unrelated note: My hair's currently looking like a curlier, messier version of Luke's hair during Perfect Harmony and it makes me snort every time I walk past our hall mirror lol)


	6. A broken vase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scolding words died on her tongue immediately however as she entered the lounge room to see the vase smashed to pieces on the floor... and the terrified-looking ghost standing above it.
> 
> "Reggie?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure if I was gonna post this chapter or the next one first, but this was the one I felt the most motivated to edit today so it's the one you're getting :)
> 
> Just... Reggie deserves the world, okay?

Julie was lying on her bed, scribbling down some killer lyrics she'd thought of on the way home from school, when she heard the crash downstairs.

A sigh escaped her lips. Was Carlos playing floorball inside again? Or had the boys accidentally scared _Tía_ for the fifteenth time? But no, _Tía_ had pilates right now (thankfully, she'd believed the story about Julie practicing a new dance routine that day in the backyard and dropped the demon thing). Then what?

Oh _dios,_ what if Carlos _and_ the boys were playing floorball inside?

As Julie had discovered much to her annoyance (and secret amusement), the brain cell count tended to drop significantly when her brother and bandmates hung out. Like that one time she'd found them trying to skate off the house roof into an inflatable pool they'd found who knows where.

And that it'd actually been _Alex_ of all people who came up with the idea (wanting to impress Willie, no doubt)...

Well, at least the boys had had enough common sense to see if the stunt was "lifer safe" before letting Carlos try - otherwise she would've had to figure out how to kill ghosts.

Either way, whether they were up to something again or not, she should head down and see what was going on. And so, dropping her note book, she shuffled off the bed and marched down the hall.

Oh boy, if either of them so much as sent a floorball flying her way...

The scolding words died on her tongue immediately however as she entered the lounge room to see the vase smashed to pieces on the floor... and the terrified-looking ghost standing above it.

"Reggie?"

His eyes snapped to her. "I'm sorry," he breathed, "I didn't mean to, I-I wasn't looking where I was going and I thought I was gonna phase through it but I- but I didn't and now it's broken and _JulieI'msosorry-_ "

"Reg, calm down, it's okay," Julie tried to say but Reggie didn't hear her, only kept apologizing and- _mierda_ , were those tears gathering in his eyes?

But… it was just a vase…?

As Julie got ready to approach him, two things happened at once: Luke and Alex poofed into the living room, their smiles quickly dampening at the sight of their distraught band mate, and her dad appeared in the kitchen doorway with a concerned, "What happened?"

Julie shared a look with Luke and Alex, who quickly understood and moved over to Reggie, before she made a beeline for her dad (ignoring the scared "Julie, no!" Reggie called after her).

"Is everything alright, _mija?_ " dad asked as she pulled him further into the kitchen.

"Reggie broke a vase," she said without digression, "and he's really upset about it so whatever you do, _don't_ yell at him."

A frown creased his brow. "Why would I yell at him for that?"

"I don't know, I just… just wanted to make sure you didn't. He doesn't do well with yelling. Or stern dad voices," she added after a moment's thought, "so don't do that either."

Seeing the seriousness in her gaze, dad nodded. "Okay. No yelling and no stern dad voice."

And well, that was definitely reassuring, but… "Promise?"

"Promise," he said, holding his hand out for emphasis. Julie felt the last of the tension leave her shoulders as she wrapped her index finger around his. "Help me talk to him?"

"Sure."

By the time the two of them came back out into the living room, Alex and Luke had maneuvered Reggie over to the couch, sitting on either side of him like bodyguards. Under normal circumstances Julie would've found it ridiculous and adorable, but seeing the wary look in Reggie's eye as she guided her dad to stand in front of them she understood their stance completely. Heck, if it hadn't been her dad, she definitely would've joined them.

"Reggie," her dad began, "At least, I hope I'm talking to you." Julie nodded as he glanced at her. "Anyway, I just want you to know I'm not mad about the vase, alright? Accidents happen and that's perfectly okay. And as long as you're not hurt, no harm done."

There was an obvious leap in logic there, Reggie being a ghost and all, but seeing how shocked (and touched) Reggie was by the words she refrained to comment on it.

"If I could see you and touch you," Ray continued, "I would give you a hug, but as I can't, maybe Julie…?"

A smile blossomed across her face as he looked at her again. This was exactly why he was the best dad ever. "Yes, she can."

"Thanks," he said, mirroring her expression. "I'll go get the dustpan." He started back towards the kitchen, only stopping briefly to send a last "No harm done, okay?" over his shoulder.

The moment he disappeared from view, Julie didn't hesitate to move forward and wrap her arms around Reggie's neck. It was a little awkward, her standing up and him sitting down, but she didn't care - Reggie was getting a damn hug and that was that.

The same sentiment seemed to be shared by Luke and Alex, who crowded in on each side, practically squishing him between the three of them.

Reggie squirmed a little. "Come on, guys," he mumbled - embarrassed by his reaction earlier no doubt. "This- this isn't necessary. I… it was just a vase."

"Exactly, Reg," Luke said, voice soft in that way it only was when one of the other three were upset. "Just a vase."

"Now shut up and let us hug you," Alex added.

A small laugh escaped Julie's lips as she nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Dad's orders, remember?"

Reggie murmured something inaudible before finally relaxing. Tentatively reaching out to return the embrace. Letting himself be comforted in the cocoon of his bandmates. To which Julie only smiled, pulling him (and the others in turn) closer.

:::

Ray stood in the kitchen doorway, dustpan in hand, watching his daughter hug the air. He shook his head fondly. This was _definitely_ going to take some time to get used to.


	7. Compensation (kind of?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex was on his feet in an instant, backing out of reach. "What the heck are you doing?"
> 
> "Giving you a compensation hug, obviously," Luke said, standing up too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex is so enjoyable to focalize through - he's so sassy and I just love writing it!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter :)

"Okay, that's it!" Luke said, slamming his hands down on the table hard enough to make Alex and Reggie jump.

Alex raised an eyebrow, shifting on the studio couch to face his bandmate. "What?"

"You can't keep using the '25 years without a hug'-thing to win arguments!"

"I don't-" Alex began with a scoff, but trailed off as he realised that _okay, maybe he had been doing that a bit._ Here and there. A lot.

Honestly, he wasn't really upset about it anymore (most of the time), but it was very effective, alright? Take the discussion they'd just been having: rhyming Julie with "drooly" in her own freaking _birthday song_ was just as emotionally stunted as not hugging someone for 25 years. Not even Luke could argue against that.

"Yeah, you do," the boy in question continued, pointing accusingly at him, "and it ends right now!" And with that he lunged forward.

Alex was on his feet in an instant, backing out of reach. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Giving you a compensation hug, obviously," he said, standing up too.

"I don't know if you remember, Luke," Reggie piped up from the couch, "but I tried that before and it didn't work out."

Nodding, Alex took a step back. "Yeah. I don't want a hug."

"Pfft, yeah, you do."

And okay, maybe Luke was right about that, but no way was Alex gonna admit that out loud. Instead, he took another step back. Luke took one forward. Back. Forward. Back. Forward. Faster and faster until they both were running around the studio, dodging attic supports and instruments and speakers and _fine,_ Alex might've been enjoying it a little bit. Moderately. Okay, a lot.

Especially at the sight of Luke's puppy dog frown when he leaped over a speaker in a single bound.

"Why do you have such long legs?!"

"Same reason yours are so short: biology," he snarked back, dancing out of the way again. Honestly, he was kinda impressed that he hadn't managed to fall over something yet. Gym had never been his thing after all-

Of course, _of course_ that meant his foot snagged on an amp cable two seconds later and sent him flying onto the soft carpet. Luke let out a triumphant yell as Alex went down, arms spread wide in preparation to give him the tackle hug to end all tackle hugs.

But Alex had no plans on going down that easy.

With the sound of Luke's feet against the floor filling his ears, Alex tugged on that thing inside him… felt the pins and needles envelop him… heard the now familiar _poof…_ and the loft materialised around him. Or he materialised up in the loft? Whatever, that was a question for later, when Luke wasn't looking up at him with mock betrayal on his face.

"Cheater!"

Alex only leaned against the railing, waving down at him with a teasing smile.

It quickly turned into a yelp as two arms wrapped around him from behind and ice filled his heart. Before he had time to think he jammed an elbow back, poofing back down as the person holding him let go.

"Ow," Reggie groaned, rubbing his side (because of course it'd been him, Alex should've realised, should've _known_ it wasn't someone like Caleb or… or...).

"Shit, sorry Reg. I didn't mean…"

He waved his free hand, voice slightly higher and breathier than usual as he said, "'S… 'S fine. My fault for jumping you like that."

In other circumstances, Alex would've argued against that, but now, with his heart still racing and his lungs still too tight and thoughts too loud… he hummed in response, pulling his focus to the tap-tap-tapping of his fingers against his thighs.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"You okay?" Luke asked, still standing next to the speaker.

Alex exhaled slowly. "Yeah. Just… no hugs right now. I…" _Need some time to ground myself._

"Okay. No hugs."

They stood in silence for a while, the only movement Reggie climbing down from the attic (he seemed to be alright, thank goodness). Alex's lungs seemed to be somewhat back to normal again now. Not that he needed them, exactly, being a ghost and all, but it felt comforting nonetheless.

A smile curved Luke's lips. "You will get that compensation hug though. Just you wait."

Alex rolled his eyes, but mirrored the smile nonetheless as they got back to writing.

:::

The next time it came up in conversation, Julie happened to be there too. They were all lounging on her bed late at night, reminiscing about all kinds of things when Reggie mentioned the (in his words) adorable hug Alex gave Willie, adding "If there's any hug that could compensate for 25 years, it would be that one!"

Of course, they had to explain the whole thing to Julie after that. Safe to say, she was _not_ impressed with Luke and Reggie's comforting skills and told them as much. But, Julie being Julie, it wasn't long before she cut her mini scolding session short to turn to Alex and say, "Can I hug you?"

And Alex nodded, because Julie gave awesome hugs and honestly, how could he possibly say no to her?

Luke obviously didn't get that logic, as he let out an indignant squawk. "Hey, no fair! Why can Julie give you a compensation hug but we can't?"

"Yeah," Reggie agreed, but he was grinning. "Like, I don't wanna accuse you of playing favourites, but… you're definitely playing favourites."

Julie stuck her tongue out at Luke in a rare childish display, making them all giggle.

And maybe it was the late hour, maybe the cozy atmosphere of Julie's room or maybe just the fact that he hadn't felt this calm and relaxed for a long time… whatever it was, it made him relent. Made him say with a half-hearted sigh, "Fine. Come here."

Only pausing briefly for a victorious smile, Luke dove forward and engulfed both him and Julie in his arms. Reggie wasn't late to join either, head coming to rest against Alex's back as he practically tried to squeeze the life (ha) out of him.

And Alex laid there in the middle, thinking about what dorks his bandmates were and (not so) secretly enjoying the affection.


	8. Soul authority

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Please say you're okay."
> 
> That Willie knew the answer to. "Yeah. I am." Reluctantly untangling themselves from Alex's arms (man, they'd missed those hugs), they sent him a wide grin. "You're looking at a free ghost."

At first, Willie hadn't been sure about going to the studio. Not that he didn't want to see Alex - he did, with every fibre with his being. It was just… they hadn't seen each other for weeks now and he hadn't sent a single word to Alex to tell him he was okay and _oh god,_ he didn't know if he could handle Alex being mad at him on top of everything else that had just happened...

All their doubts disappeared however as Alex gasped and nearly bowled them over in a bear hug the second they appeared.

"Oh my gosh, Willie! You- I-" he spluttered, voice rising in the adorable way it always did when he was overwhelmed, "You're here, you're okay- wait, are you okay? Please say you're okay."

That Willie knew the answer to. "Yeah. I am." Reluctantly untangling themselves from Alex's arms (man, they'd missed those hugs), they sent him a wide grin. "You're looking at a free ghost."

A moment of stunned silence hung in the air.

"You mean… free from the Ghost Club?" a girl with curly brown hair said, sending him what must be the most contagious smile in existence. She had to be the Julie Alex had told him so much about.

"Yup." They mirrored her expression. "The only one who owns my soul now is me."

"Ha! In your face, Caleb!" Reggie yelled, looking like he was on the verge of breaking out into a victory dance.

Alex however seemed to still be somewhere in the shock phase, as all he managed to get out was, " _What?_ B-but how?!"

"Who cares, man, Willie's free!" came Luke's reply, thankfully saving Willie from getting into that very long story he still hadn't really had time to process.

Because how did you even process the fact that Caleb had lost control over your soul because your connection to Alex (and in turn Julie and her "magic") had grown stronger than to him? How did you process the utter look of surprise, of anger, of _horror_ on Caleb's face as you poofed away from him for what could be the last time?

A pair of arms wrapped around him and, being as caught up in his thoughts as he was, it took him a good few seconds to realise it wasn't Alex hugging him again, but _Luke._

"Yeah, Luke's a hugger," Reggie said, no doubt having seen his confusion. "He's like this with all his friends: you get used to it after a while."

"He also has boundary issues," Julie added, crossing her arms.

Luke responded by sticking his tongue out at her, but let go of Willie all the same. "Seriously though, if it's weird I'll stop."

"No!" they said a little too quickly. "I mean," they cleared their throat, "no, it's… it's cool."

More than cool, actually. Just… they hadn't been hugged much since they died. Alex being the only one in recent memory. So to have someone they'd only met a few times show that level of affection so freely, so easily… it was _a lot._

Then what Reggie had said earlier truly struck him. "We're… friends?"

"Well, duh," Luke replied like it was as obvious as the colour of the sky.

"Yeah, man, any friend of Alex's is a friend of ours!" Reggie paused. "Okay, not every friend - what was that guy's name, the one with the mullet?"

"Jared," Alex supplied with a sigh.

"Right, Jared! That guy sucked."

Luke leaned closer to Willie, as if sharing a secret. "One time in art class, he spilled oil-based paint all over Alex's favourite hoodie on _purpose._ "

"No, he _didn't,_ " Julie gasped.

"Yeah, I stopped hanging out with him after that and- Reg, why are we talking about Jared?"

For a second, Reggie just looked at Alex in confusion before remembering. "Oh yeah, what I meant was, we don't become friends with _all_ Alex's friends, only the ones who're cool and nice to him. Like you! Honestly, we'd be crazy _not_ to be friends with you."

"If you're okay with that?" Julie added pointedly before looking at Willie.

They grinned. "Yeah. Totally."

A short silence descended over the group as they simply stood there, looking at each other. Then Alex let out a breathy laugh. "You're free. You're _actually_ free."

"Heck yeah I am."

And Alex lunged forward to hug him again, Luke and Reggie and Julie quickly joining in, the four of them surrounding him like a blanket of comfort… filling him with more warmth than he'd felt for a long, long time.

Who knew a group hug - with actually nice people, with _fri_ _ends_ \- could feel this good?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Willie's finally entered the story! *confetti and balloons and fireworks*
> 
> And he has sole authority of his soul!!! ... Or should I say soul authority?
> 
> ... Okay, I'll see myself and my dad jokes out lol
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)


End file.
